Means for handling liquids



Dec. 28, 193 7.

F. RAVNSBECK MEANS FOR HANDLING LIQUIDS Filed Dec. l0, 1954 @5M/MMM@ ratus for supplying fuel to an oil burner.

Patented D. ze, l192.1

MEANS FOR HANDLING LQ-UIDS Fred Ravnsbeck, Chicago, Ill., ilssignoi-v to Ace Engineering 0o., a corporation of Illinois Application December 10, 1934, Serial No. 756,771

6 (llairns. (Cl. 137-153) 'I'he invention relates to means forhandling liquid and is particularly adapted to be embodied in means for supplying fuel to oil burners,`or the equivalent, but the invention is-limited to this use only to the extent indicatedin the appended claims.

One form of the invention is embodied in appa- The apparatus comprises means for holding a suitable supply of fuel, a pump for deliveringthe fuel to an improved valve device and pipes, or the equivaient, leading from the valve device to the burner and to the means holding the supply of fuel. In order to facilitate the description of the appa.- ratus, the means for holding the supply of fuel will be hereinafter referred to as the tank.

'I'he pump may be of any suitable construction and is preferably driven by an electric motor. 'Ihe pump is adapted to deliver a constant volume of fuel, per unit of time, to the improved valve device. 'I'he pump delivers this constant volume of fuel per unit of time to the improved valve device even through the viscosity of the fuel varies. 'This is due to the fact that the' speed of the pump is substantially constant. It may be mentioned, however, that the pressure at which the fuel is delivered to the valve device varies when the viscosity of the fuel varies.

A portion of the fuel delivered to the valve device passes to the burner, the remainder being returned to the tank. The valve device comprises means which may be adjusted, at the time the apparatus is installed, to deliver the desired quantity of fuel. It is rarely necessaryto readjust the valve devices. Changes in viscosity of the fuel have no eifect thereon. Therefore, when the pump is operating n,gcuntinuously and at the same rate of speed, va chalge in the viscosity of the fuel will not lessen or increase the amount of fuel delivered to the burner. The improved valve device comprises means which will return as much fuel as is necessary to the tank in the event the burner or the pipes leading to it become clogged.

Other advantages of the improved apparatus will become apparent as the following description progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein- Fig. 1 is --a diagrammatic view of apparatus for supplying fuel to an oil burner, which apparatus embodies the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical central section taken through an improved valve device which forms part of the apparatusshown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

connected by a pipe M lhead Il and a collar 20 yieldingly urges the pis- Referring for the present' to Figrl wherein Y a diagrammatic view of an oil burner I and apparatus for supplying it 'with fuel are shown, the reference character '9 designates an improved valve device which is connected by pipe 41 to the 6 burner I and also by a pipe 43 to a tank 3 adapted to hold a supply of fuel. 'I'he valve device 9 is to -a pump 4 which is driven by an electric motor 5. IThe inlet opening of the pump 4 is connected to the tank 3 by a pipe'6.

`The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 is of such construction that the pump 4 is driven at a contant speed and it pumps fuel from the tank 3 and .delivers it to the valve 9. A portion of the fuel 15 then flows through the pipesg'lto the burner I. the remainder of the fuel being returned to the tank 3 through the pipe'43. The pump 4 delivers a constant quantity cf fuel, per unit of time, to the valve 9. i

The valve 3 comprises a casing I0 having a central bore II which is closed at one end by a transverse wall I2 formed integral with the casing I0. 'I'he other end the bore II is closed by'a cap I3. Slidably journaled in the bore II 25 is a piston member which is designated generally by the reference character I5, the piston member I5/being provided with piston heads I6 and I'I. A spring I8 which is interposed between the .piston 30 ton member I5 in an upward direction' (Fig.v2)y

so that the piston head I t normally abuts against the lower end of a screw 22. The screw 22 is screw-threaded in the wall l2.

The screw 2'2 Vpasses through a packing which 35 is designated generally by the reference character 25 and comprises suitable packing material 2li,

a sleeve 21 and a cap 28,- the cap 28 having an opening 29 in its upper end to permit access to the screw 22. The cap 23 is screw-threaded on the upper end of the valve casing I0 and it will be readily understood that when the cap 28 is applied to the'casing I0 and screw-threaded thereon, the sleeve 21 compresses the packing material 26. Y

Projecting from the lower face of the piston head I'I is a pin 30 around which the spring I8 is disposed. The collar 20 is slidably journaled on the lower end of the pin 30 and may be displaced upwardly on the pin 30 by manipulating a tubular screw 32 which receives lthe lower end, of the pin 30. Obviously, if the screw 32 is Vrotated in adirection to withdraw it from the cap I3, the spring I8 will keep the collar 20 in engagement with the upper end of the screw .32-

- cap 35 screw-threaded upon the cap I3, the construction being such that one may readily remove the cap 35 when it is desired to obtain access to the screw 32.

It will be noted that the piston headsv I8 and I1 are joined to each other by a cylindrical member 36 which is integral with the piston heads but is of smaller diameter so that an annular chamber is formed between the cylindrical member 38 and the wall of the bore II. For the purposes of this description, the annular chamber is desighated by the reference character 38.

The valve casing I is provided with an intake port 40 and outlets 4I and 42. Screwthreaded into the valve casing I0 and communieating with the intake port 40 is 'the pipe 44 which connects the port 40 with the fuel tank y3 through the pump 4 and the pipe 6. The pump 4 is adapted to force fuel through the pipe 44 into the annular chamber 38' under pressure. The outlet port 4I is connected to theoil burner I through the pipe v41.-- The outlet port 42 is connected by a pipe 43 to the tank 3.

It will be noted that the piston head IB is provided with a longitudinally extending port 50 extending from the upper surface thereof to the lower surface thereof so that that portion of the bore II disposed above the piston head I6 communicates with the annular chamber 38. f

A port 52 extends from the outlet port 42 to that portion of the bore Il disposed beneath the piston head I1.

It will be readily understood that one ymay manipulate the screw 22 to displace the piston member I against the action of the spring I8 to have the piston heads I6 and I1 uncover as much of the outlet ports 4I and 42 as is desired. The more the outlet port 42 is uncovered, the more the outlet port 4I is covered or closed. Of course,l

when the screw 22 is rotated to displace it upwardly, the spring I8 causes the piston member I5 to be displaced so that it remains in engagement with the bottom end of the screw 22.

In practice, the position of the piston member I5 is adjusted when the oil burner apparatus is installed and it is rarely necessary to re-adjust the piston member I5. However, in some instances, such re-adjustment is necessary as when varying conditions in the furnace or the boiler necessitate a change in the firing rate or where, for any other reason, the volume of fuel delivered to the nozzle must be altered. lWith the piston member adjusted to the conditions of any particular installation, it is readily understood that a predetermined quantity of fuel is delivered into the valve through the inlet port 40 and this fuel is divided so that a part of it is discharged through the outlet port 4I and the remainder is to the tank 3.

discharged through the outlet port 42 to return It will be readily understood that the port 50 serves as a source of communication between the upper end of the bore II and the annular chamber 38 sothat fuel accumulating above the lpiston head I6 will not prevent adjustment or operation of the piston member I5. The port 50 permits fuel to pass into the upper end of the bore lI so that the valve will function automatically as hereinafter described.

In the event the pipe 41 becomes clogged or in `the event the flow of. fuel through the pipe 41 is stopped by any manually or automatically operated meana'such as valves, etc., it is obvious that the valve can not divide the fuel between theoutlet ports 4I and 42 as the piston member I5 will be displaced downwardly against the action of the spring I8 to close the outlet port 4I so that all'of the'fuel will be discharged through the outlet port 42 to return to the tank 3.

If the fuel accumulates in the lower end of the bore II beneath the piston head I1, it will not prevent proper adjustment or operation of the piston member I5 as if the piston head I5 moves downwardly, any excess oil in the lower end of the bore II will be discharged into the outlet port 42 through the port 52.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims, in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention as broadly as permissible, in view of the y prior art.

means retarding displacement of said pistonv member in the other direction, the piston head adjacent to said limiting means having a port extending through it whereby that portion of the bore at one end of said piston head communicates with that portion of the bore at the other end of said pistonhead.

2. A valve of the type ing provided with an inlet port and with two outlet ports, valve means controlling the flow of liquid out of said outlet ports and subject to the pressure of the fluid entering the inlet port so as to automatically displace the valve' means to increase the opening of one outlet port upon obstruction of the other outlet port, means positively limiting the amount said valve means can open one of said outlet ports, and yieldable means describedhaving a casfor retarding any movement of said valve means crease the opening of one outlet port upon ob- Y struction of the other outlet port, means positively hunting the amount said valve means can open one of said outlet porta-and yieldable means for retarding any movement of said valve means in a direction to close the last mentioned outlet port.

4. A valve of the type, described comprising a u aioasoo casing having a bore therein. a movable member having two spaced piston heads mounted thereon, said member being slidably journaled in said bore, said casing having an intake port communie cating with said bore between saidpiston heads and having a plurality of outlet ports communicating with said bore between said piston heads,

said outlet ports being controlled by said piston heads, means positively limiting displacement of said movable member'in one direction, and yield-i able means retarding displacement of said movable member in the other direction, the piston i head adjacent said positive hunting means having a port extending through it whereby that portion oi' the bore atone end oi' said piston head communicates with that portion oi' the bore at the other end of said piston head, said casing having a byfpass port communicating with one of said outlet ports and with'said bore at a point normally beyond one end of the piston head associated with said outlet port., the last mentioned piston head being unported.

5. A valve of the type described" comprising a casing having a bore therein, a piston member having two spaced piston heads operatively connected to each other, said piston member beingv slidably journaled in said bore, said casing having an intake port /constantly communicating with said bore intermediate said piston heads and having a plurality of outlet ports constantly communicating with said bore, said outlet ports being controlled by said piston heads respectively, means positively limiting displacement of said piston member in one direction, yieldable means retarding displacement of said piston member in the other direction, one of said piston heads having a prt extending through it whereby that portion of the bore at one end of said J'piston head communicates with that portion of the bore at the other end ofsaid piston head, the arrangement of said piston heads and associated outlet ports being such that said piston member is subect to the pressure of the fluid intermediate said inlet portso as to automatically increase the opening of one outlet port upon the obstruction of the other outlet port, said casing having a by-pass port communicating with the outlet port associated with the unported piston and with said bore at a point normally beyond that end of said plstonmember which carries the unported piston. Y

6. A valve of the type described comprising a casing having a bore therein, a'piston member having two spaced piston heads rigidly connected toeach other, said piston member being slidably journaled in said bore, said casing having an intake port constantly communicating with said bore intermediate said piston A heads and having a plurality of outlet ports constantly communicating with said bore and controlled by 'said piston heads respectively, adjustable means posi-- tively limiting displacement ot said piston member in one direction, and yieldable means retarding displacement of said piston member in the other direction, said piston rheads and outlet ports being so constructed and arranged lthat `said piston member is subject to the pressure of the iluid entering said inlet port so as to automatically increase the opening of one outlet port upon the obstruction of the other outlet port, said casing having a by-pass port communicating with one of said outlet ports and with said bre at a point normally beyond the end of said piston `member associated with said one'outlet port.

FRED RAVNSBECK. 

